Picking Up The Pieces
by JCLProductions88
Summary: When Carly leaves Salem to go to a medical convention in New York, things don't go as planned. Olivia and Elliot are brought in to help Carly get her life back.
1. Chapter 1

**Picking Up The Pieces**

_**Summary: When Carly leaves Salem to go to a medical convention in New York, things don't go as planned. Olivia and Elliot are brought in to help Carly get her life back.**_

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><p><em>Disclaimer: <em>_Unfortunately I do not own Bo and Carly, nor do I own Benson and Stabler. These characters belong to Ken Corday and Dick Wolf. _

**A/N: This is the first time I have ever written anything like this. It's my first crossover, so I decided to put my two favorite ladies in one place. If you watch both shows, I hope you enjoy. If you don't watch both shows, then I still hope you can manage to enjoy it anyway. I'm not writing Bo and Carly too much like their characters on the show, just for the simple fact, that it's my story and I can do what I want. I will however try to be realistic.**

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><p><span>Salem<span>

**Manning-Brady Household:**

Bo was standing in the doorway of his and Carly's bedroom, watching her as she gathered clothes and necessities to pack for her trip. She was going out of town for a medical convention, and it was imperative that she go.

"Just how important is it, that you go to this convention?" Bo asked Carly from the doorway of their bedroom.

"I know you're going to miss me. I'm going to miss you too, but I have to go." Carly said, as she wrapped her arms around Bo's neck, giving him a quick kiss. "It's the price I pay for being so good at what I do." She added with a sweet smile.

"Yeah well, if I recall correctly, you're good at a lot of things."

"Bo Brady, it sounds like you're trying to get me into bed."

"What if I am?" Bo smirked and leaned in to kiss Carly.

Just as Bo and Carly began to deepen their kiss, they heard the tiny footsteps of their small son, entering the room.

Jessie Manning Brady was two years old; had long, dark, and curly hair. He managed to inherit a rare condition, resulting in his eyes being two different colors. One was brown, and the other green.

"Hey Mama." Little Jessie said, with a smile mirroring that of his father's.

"Hey, my sweet boy." Carly said as she reached down and lifted him into her arms. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"Not sleepy." Jessie replied with a shrug and a tilt of his head.

Bo smiled at the sight in front of him, and then leaned forward, kissing the crown of his son's head. "Tell you what… why don't you go find a story, and I'll come tuck you in and read it to you. That sound like a plan?"

"Yeah!" Jessie exclaimed, climbing out of Carly's arms.

Carly couldn't help but laugh at her son's excitement.

"It works every time. What can I say, the boy loves his books." Bo smiled, and kissed Carly, before heading off down the hall to get his son situated for the night, while Carly finished packing.

* * *

><p>Bo was getting Carly's bags out of the trunk while she said her goodbyes to Jessie.<p>

"You be good for daddy, okay?"

"Maybe." Jessie smiled, making Carly chuckle.

"Hey, I heard that, little man." Bo teased, causing Jessie to giggle.

Bo kissed Carly. "Be careful. I love you."

"I will. I love you too." Carly leaned back into the car. "I love you too, sweetheart."

Jessie draped his arms around Carly's neck, and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Love you, Mama."

Carly turned back to face Bo. She leaned into him, giving him one final hug. "I'm going to miss you guys."

"I know, but It's the price you pay for being so good at what you do, right." Bo smirked with a wink.

Carly scoffed and laughed. "Not funny. You cannot use my own words against me."

"No, you don't want me to use your words against you, but it's true… you're an amazing surgeon, and someone has to represent our small town."

"I guess." Carly sighed. "I better get going. I'll call you when I land."

"Alright. Go, be safe, have fun, and come back home." Bo called out to her.

Carly just waved as she walked away.

* * *

><p><span>New York<span>

The first night of the convention was finally over, and Carly was exhausted. She decided that the mingling, and butt kissing could wait until she was well rested. Not to mention, that the last time she talked to her husband, was when she called to tell him that she had landed safe and sound.

Carly was leaning against the side of the elevator as she rode to her floor, thinking about what her night would consist of. _"A nice hot bath, and then I'll call Bo and see how my two favorite guys are doing."_

As the elevator doors opened, Carly stepped off and made her way to her room. She wasn't aware of the man watching her from around the corner.

**1-6 Precinct:**

"Benson, Stabler." Cragen called from the doorway of his office. "We've got a vic at Mercy. 34 year old female, found in her hotel room this morning, raped and beaten."

"Got it, Cap." Yelled Elliot, as he and Olivia grabbed their jackets and walked out of the bullpen.

"Fin and Munch, CSU's over at the hotel. Go see what you can find."

"On it." Fin called, as he and Munch headed out.

**Mercy General Hospital:**

As Elliot and Olivia stepped off of the elevator, they were greeted by a doctor.

"Detectives." The doctor said, greeting them.

Olivia pointed to herself and then to Elliot. "Benson and Stabler."

"Doctor Reed." He replied, walking towards the nurse's station.

"What do you got?" Olivia asked, as Elliot pulled out his notepad.

"34 year old female, brought in about 20 minutes ago. She's got cuts and bruises, and a bump on her head. She was barley conscious when she got here."

"She have a name?" Asked Olivia.

"Yeah." The doctor answered, flipping open the file in his hand. "Carly Manning. She's a doctor… in town for a medical convention."

Elliot, noticing that the doctor hadn't given them that specific piece of information they were looking for, tapped his pen against his pad, and cleared his throat. "You do a rape kit yet?"

The doctor nodded. "Positive for fluids."

"Can we see her?"

Dr. Reed held out his hand, signaling which way the detectives should go. "Right this way."

**Carly's Hospital Room:**

Olivia walked over to the bed where Carly was lying. She pulled the chair, which was sitting in the corner, next to the bed, and sat down.

"Dr. Manning-"

"Carly." She whispered. "Call me Carly."

"Carly." Olivia corrected herself. She introduced herself and Elliot, and continued with her questioning. "I'm Detective Benson." She said, pointing to herself, then pointing up. "That's my partner, Detective Stabler. Do you remember what happened last night?"

Carly closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She looked down at her hands, before taking another deep breath, and returning her gaze to Olivia. She spoke quietly, almost in a whisper.

"Things are little fuzzy. I remember some things, but not much."

"That's okay. Lets just start with what you _can_ remember."

Carly nodded. "I had just come from a meeting, and I was standing outside my hotel room. I had just gotten the door open, when I felt a hand over my mouth." Carly's eyes began to water. She was trying to be strong, and keep her emotions at bay, but they managed to get the better of her.

As she continued talking, tears began to streak her cheeks. "He pushed me into my room." Carly paused, trying to gain her composure, internally beating herself for losing it in the first place.

Sniffling, Carly pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, wiped her nose, and continued.

"He whispered in my ear, 'If you scream, I'll kill you.'" She stared into space, and touched just above her collarbone. "He had a knife. I never saw it, but I felt it." Carly looked back at Olivia.

"Next thing I know, he hit me on the back of the head. We ended up on the floor, and then he was on top of me." Shaking her head, and closing her eyes in disgust, Carly continued. "He held my hand… kissed me." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "I remember him panting in my ear. I remember crying, but everything after that is just kind of dark."

Olivia leaned closer to Carly's bed. "Did he say anything to you?"

Carly nodded, but continued to look at her hands. "Yeah, but I don't know what. My head was pounding… I was dizzy… everything sounded muffled."

Carly's head fell back against her pillow, and she gave out a loud sigh before remembering that she still hadn't called Bo. She looked back and forth between Elliot and Olivia. "Oh no. My husband. I have to call him, he doesn't know."

"Alright, we'll have someone get in contact with him." Olivia reassured. "Just relax. Getting worked up isn't going to help."

Carly just nodded, and reclined back, to wait on her doctor.

**Carly's Hotel Room:**

Munch and Fin walked through the open door, seeing the room swarming with CSU. O'Halloran stood, and walked over to them.

Munch stepped forward. "What do you have?"

"Fluids, some blood… I'll take the blood back to the lab, just incase she got a piece of him."

"Alright man. Anything else?' Fin asked.

""Nope. No prints, so chances are, he wore gloves. I'm guessing she wasn't his first victim either."

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><p><span>Salem<span>

**Manning-Brady Household:**

Bo was chasing Jessie around the living room, and trying to avoid tripping over the toys splayed out on the floor. "Come back here you little monster."

"You can't get me, Daddy!" Jessie called out as he ran around the couch.

"Oh, yes I will." Bo said, just as he climbed on the couch, reached over, and grabbed Jessie, pulling him back over and on top of him.

Jessie screamed, laughed, and giggled as his daddy tickled him. Just then the phone rang.

Bo picked Jessie up, and sat him on the floor. "Play with your toys, buddy."

Bo reached over, and took the phone off of the cradle. "Hello."

"_Bo Brady?"_

"Yes. Who is this?"

"_This is Dr. Reed, from Mercy General Hospital. Your wife, Dr. Manning, she was brought in about an hour ago. She wanted us to call you."_

Bo hadn't said anything, he just stared into space.

"_Mr. Brady?" _Dr. Reed asked.

Bo squeezed his eyes shut, and took a deep breath before coming out of his trance. "Is she okay?"

"_She was attacked and beaten. Other than a few cuts and bruises… a slight concussion… she's fine."_

"Is there any way I can speak to her?"

"_A couple of detectives took her down to the police station. I can give you the information."_

"Yeah, that would be great." Bo grabbed a pen and paper from the side table and began scribbling down the information.

After Bo hung up, he slid down to the floor, and placed Jessie in his lap. He held him, and kissed the top of his head while he cried.


	2. Chapter 2

New York

**Interrogation Room One:**

Carly was sitting in the interrogation room, wearing a gray pullover hoodie and sweatpants. She had her arms folded, and her head down, when Bo walked in.

Hearing the door open, then close, Carly looked up. She couldn't help the tears that pooled in her eyes when she saw him standing there. Immediately, he was by her side. He kneeled down in front of her, and held her as tight as he could.

Bo pulled back, and placed his hands on either side of her head. He looked her in the eyes, and noticed something was missing. Not speaking, from fear he wouldn't actually be able to, Bo wrapped his arms back around Carly, and whispered 'I love you' in her ear, causing her to breakdown in a full out sob.

**Bullpen:**

Munch was just getting off of the phone, when Cragen came out of his office. "That was O'Halloran. The blood didn't belong to our perp,"

"Why does that not surprise me?" Cragen asked, with a voice full of sarcasm. With that he sighed, and turned his attention to Elliot and Olivia. "We get anything back on the rape kit yet?"

"Nothing yet. Melinda said she'd call when she has something." Elliot replied, leaning back in his chair and twirling his pen.

Hanging his head in slight disappointment, Cragen sighed. "Alright. Go tell the nice doctor and her husband that they can leave, but to stay available."

**Interrogation Room One:**

After Carly calmed down, Bo pushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear, like he always did. Using the sleeve of his black hoodie, he wiped her eyes, then leaned his head against hers, and took a deep breath. "What happened? What the hell did he do to you?" He asked breathlessly, while lightly grazing his thumb over her busted lip.

Their heads still touching, Carly closed her eyes, and shook her head, causing their foreheads to rub together. "I don't know. I don't know. Everything just happened so fast."

She couldn't stop the tears that continued to roll down her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't… I… I'm sorry."

Before Bo had a chance to respond, there was a knock on the door.

Olivia opened the door, and made her way inside. "I'm sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know that you can leave, but just make sure that we can get in touch with you, in case something comes up or we have more questions."

Neither Bo nor Carly looked up. They never took their eyes off of each other.

"If you remember anything, or just need to talk, here's my card." Olivia reached into her pocket, and handed Carly a business card. "My cell phone number is on the back. Call anytime; day or night, it doesn't matter."

"Thank you." Carly took the card, and gave a weak smile, as Olivia walked out, closing the door behind her.

Bo stood up, and reached for Carly's hand. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

"I can't just go home, Bo. I can't just leave."

"Carly, it's a 2 hour flight if they need you to come back here, but if not, they talk to you over the phone."

Carly just hung her head, and bit her lip. "I'm just not ready for all of Salem to find out about this."

"Who says they have to find out? Even if they did, they can't prove it one-way or the other. That town lives off of rumors and gossip; you know that better than anyone." Tucking a piece of hair behind Carly's ear, Bo gently stroked her face. "If they even suspect anything, tell them to go to hell. I don't really see anyone pestering you about it though, because depending on the person, I'm pretty sure you could take them."

Carly smiled and gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go home, I miss my little troublemaker."

Bo kissed Carly softly on the lips, and pulled her close, allowing her head to rest against him as they walked out of the SVU squad room.


	3. Chapter 3

Salem

**Manning-Brady Household:**

Bo and Carly had just gotten back from New York. There was a small delay with their flight, so it was on the verge of getting dark when they finally landed. As soon as they stepped through the front door, Carly made a beeline for the couch, and lied down.

Bo placed their bags down by the door, and walked over to where Carly lay. Kneeling down beside the couch, Bo swept the hair out of her eyes, and tucked it behind her ear. "How are you feeling?"

Without opening her eyes, she answered. "I'm sore, and I haven't slept in almost two days."

"I'm guessing you probably want to take a shower, so how about I call my mom, and see if she can bring Jess home… that way I don't have to leave you here… sound like a plan?"

"Yeah, I guess." She sighed.

Bo leaned forward and planted a kiss on Carly's cheek. "Okay, come on. I'll help you."

"No!" Carly cried, but immediately softened her tone, when she saw the look on Bo's face. "It's fine… I'm fine."

"Carly-" Bo started, but was quickly interrupted.

"I said I'm fine." Standing up, Carly made her way upstairs, while Bo stood dumbstruck by what had just happened.

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><p>After Carly's shower, she found she was too restless to sleep, so she decided to go back downstairs. She noticed Bo straightening up what little mess he and Jessie left behind.<p>

Bo turned around to find Carly standing at the bottom of the stairs. He stopped what he was doing, and walked up to her. Taking her hand in his, he led her to the couch to sit down. Grabbing the throw from the back of the couch, he placed it over them as they curled up together, content to just enjoy each other's presence, when the doorbell rang. Before getting up to answer the door, Bo planted a slightly lingering kiss on the top of Carly's head.

When he opened the door, he saw his mom standing there, with Jessie in her arms.

"Daddy!" Jessie exclaimed, as he reached for Bo.

Smiling, Bo took him into his arms. "Hey buddy, I missed you."

"I missed you too, daddy." Jessie whispered, as his little arms wrapped around Bo's neck.

Bo faced his mom, and pulled her in for a hug. "Hey Ma. Thanks for watching him for us."

"You're welcome. We had fun, didn't we, sweetheart?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah." Jessie smiled, but his smile faltered as he added, "but I missed you and mommy, a whole lot."

"We missed you too, little man. Guess what… there's someone inside that wants to see you."

Bo placed Jessie on the floor, and he and his mom watched as the little boy walked inside. They weren't expecting the ear-piercing squeal that came next.

"MOMMY!" Jessie screamed, as he ran, arms wide, into an ecstatically waiting Carly."

Carly hugged him as tight as she could, without suffocating him, as she whispered into his hair, inhaling his scent. "Oh baby, I missed you so, _so_ much."

Bo and Caroline looked on at the scene in front of them, of mother and son reconnecting, and catching up on days and hours missed.

Caroline turned to face Bo. "I want to talk to you."

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><p><span>New York<span>

**16th Precinct:**

Walking back to his desk, after getting a cup of coffee, Munch addressed his colleagues. "O'Halloran suspects our guy could have more vics out there. He thinks it could have either been a planned attack, or just another hit under this guy's belt."

Elliot sat on the edge of Olivia's desk, with his arms folded. "I don't get it. Why would he leave his DNA, knowing that _that_ could be his downfall?

"Could be his idea of a calling card. His way of marking them… claiming them." Fin responded, leaning back in his chair.

Olivia, turning in her chair, stood and perched herself next to Elliot on the side of her desk. "Maybe we should have this guy's DNA run through CODIS. If he does have more victims out there, we could try to track them down. Who knows… we might just get lucky. If anything, we may be able to narrow down our search."

Just then Cragen stepped out of his office, and towards the four detectives. He looked at Elliot and Olivia. "Has Warner given us anything back on that rape kit yet?"

"Not yet." Elliot said, looking at Cragen and shaking his head.

Seeing the look they were getting back from their Captain, Elliot and Olivia pushed themselves up from their perched position on her desk, and he grabbed the car keys. "We'll go see what the hold up is."

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><p><span>Salem<span>

**Manning-Brady Household:**

Bo watched from the doorway of the kitchen, as Jessie told Carly about all the things he had done while she was gone. It wasn't until Caroline started to speak, that he turned around, letting the door close behind him.

"What's going on, Bo? You didn't really tell me anything over the phone, and you rushed out of here so fast the other night."

Caroline looked at the grave expression on her son's face as she spoke. "What happened in New York? Judging by that cut on Carly's lip, and that bruise on her neck… it had to be something ugly."

Sighing, with closed eyes, Bo bobbed his head. "Yeah, it was. She hasn't even really said anything to me yet, nothing in detail, but… she was attacked in her hotel room."

"What?" Caroline was shocked.

"Yeah." The tears brimmed Bo's eyes as he spoke, and Caroline could see the anger welling up inside. "Someone hurt her. Someone put their hands on her, and I swear to you… when they find him, I'm going to kill him." He said through gritted teeth.

Bo took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself. "Listen, Ma… you can't say anything to anyone." He said sternly. "Carly wants to keep this as quiet as possible, and you can't really blame her… not with the way news travels in this town."

"Of course. I won't say anything… to anyone. How's she doing?"

"Distant, to a certain extent, but still kind of attached." He says, shaking his head. "I don't know. She's Carly, just… a really unhappy version of herself. There's something she isn't telling me."

"Well don't push her. You don't want her to shut down. She'll talk when she's ready."

Bo pushed the kitchen door back open, to see Jessie straddling Carly's lap, with his head on her shoulder. "I know. The last thing I want is for her to shut me out."

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><p>Walking back into the living room, Caroline made her way to the couch, where she bent down to give Carly a kiss on the cheek. "I have to get going before it gets too dark."<p>

"You going to give grandma kisses before she leaves?" Carly asked Jessie.

Not leaving his place on Carly's lap, Jessie tilted his head back for Caroline to kiss.

Caroline returned her gaze to Carly. The look in her eyes wasn't so much a look of sympathy, but that of support. "You take care of yourself, okay? I love you."

Carly smiled a silent 'thank you.' "I will. I love you too."

Bo, Carly, and Jessie all waved and said their goodbyes to Caroline, as she walked out the door.

Nonchalantly sitting down beside Carly, Bo turned to face Jessie. "It's getting really late, and I think it's past someone's bedtime."

"No." Jessie replied adamantly, hiding his face in Carly's neck, and shaking his head. "I want to stay with mommy."

Carly held him a little tighter, and stroked his hair. "It's okay, baby." She whispered. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I'm not going to go anywhere else, unless I can take you and daddy with me… okay?" She asked. Her eyes never leaving Bo's.

Bo returned her gaze, and an unspoken understanding was made.

Refusing to loosen his grip on Carly's neck, Jessie took a deep breath, and nodded his head.

Standing up with Jessie still wrapped in her arms, Carly headed upstairs, with Bo right behind her. "Let's get you in bed."

Carly had a small smile on her face, as she walked out of Jessie's room, closing the door behind her. "He was tired."

"No kidding. He was out, before his head hit the pillow." Bo chuckled while turning to head towards their bedroom.

"Bo." Carly called to him. "What were you and Caroline talking about?" She asked as he turned.

When he didn't answer, she came to her own conclusion. She pursed her lips together, bowed her head, and stared at the floor. "You told her, didn't you?" She asked, looking back up.

The silence was deafening, as Bo stood there, like a child that had just been scolded. "She's not blind, Carly. You've got a huge bruise on your neck, and a busted lip… did you think she wouldn't ask?"

By this time, Carly's eyes had begun to water. She couldn't even look Bo in the eye.

Seeing the effect his reaction and confession had on her, he walked up to her, wrapping her in his arms. He pressed his lips to her hair. "She won't say anything. She just wanted to know if you were alright… she was concerned."

Bo pulled back to look in her eyes. He wiped the tears, which had streaked her face, away. "Let's go to bed." Carly gave a small nod, as they walked down the hallway to their bedroom.

* * *

><p><span>New York<span>

**Melinda Warner, M.E.'s Office:**

Elliot and Olivia walked, side by side, into the morgue. They spotted Melinda in the back of the room, covering up the small body of a child.

Olivia looked at the lifeless body, before looking back at Melinda. "What happened?"

"He was strangled. He's covered in bruises… some healed, some fresh. It was long term abuse, and someone turned a blind eye."

Olivia couldn't help but stare at the covered body, and wondered how someone could do that to such an innocent baby. After years of working with special victims, she still couldn't, truly, answer that question. It wasn't until she heard Elliot's voice that she snapped out of her daze.

"We know you're backed up, but please tell us you've got something from our vic's rape kit?"

Warner walked into her office, with Olivia and Elliot right behind her. "Sorry for the delay." She walked behind her desk, and pulled out a file. "The doctor, right?"

The detectives nodded their heads in the affirmative, as Warner began reading the contents of the file.

"I ran your perp's DNA through the system, and seven matches came back."

There wasn't a word, to describe the looks on Elliot and Olivia's faces. They were flabbergasted.

"_Your_ vic, wasn't _his first_ vic." Melinda leafed through the file. "The worse part..." She pulled out four pictures, and handed them to the detectives. "Four of those seven were kids. All of who were ranging between the ages of five and nine."

Olivia and Elliot looked disgusted beyond relief. This guy wasn't just a rapist, he was a pedophile. He got off on hurting little kids… babies, and they wouldn't stand for that.

Warner saw the hate and anger welling up in Elliot's face. "Find me a suspect, and I'll match it."

* * *

><p><span>Salem<span>

**Manning-Brady Household:**

"_Scream, and I'll kill you." _

_That was the calm remark that hit Carly's ear. Her response was a stiff head nod, and a muffled acknowledgement. She was so frightened… absolutely terrified._

"_His breath… it's warm on the side of my face, and my God… it's horrible." She thought to herself. _

_Carly was concentrating so heavily on doing whatever it took to stay alive, that she didn't notice his hand was no longer covering her mouth, but was now loosely wrapped around her throat._

'_I suddenly feel a sharp pain on the back of my head. How did I get on the floor?'_

_The weight on top of her was unbearable… she was being crushed. _

Carly shot up in the bed; wide eyed, out of breath, and in a cold sweat. The commotion caused Bo to sit up, just as fast.

"Carly? What is it? Are you okay?" Bo asked, frantically.

Trying to calm down, and catch her breath, Carly shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm fine." She looked over at Bo, and saw the unconvinced look in his eyes, but she also saw the hurt in them.

"You're not fine." Bo sat up, and shifted so that he was facing Carly. "You've been acting weird ever since we got home, and you have every right to do so, I'm not saying you don't, but… I need you to talk to me. Don't shut me out."

"I'm not shutting you out of anything, it was just a bad dream." She replied with closed eyes, and shaking her head.

"Yeah." He sighed. "That's what you keep saying, but I'm not stupid."

Bo just sat there, not really looking at anything in particular, and shaking his head. He looked so defeated, so tired. It was like he was fighting a losing battle.

Carly turned her head, and narrowed her eyes. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means, you were stroking that cut on your collarbone, or did you not notice?" Bo shook his head. "It wasn't just a nightmare, was it? More like a memory?" He asked with a hint of irritation in his voice.

Carly didn't say anything; she just stared at her hands, as they lay in her lap. Bo caught the glimpse of a tear sliding down her cheek, as the moonlight hit it.

Bo grabbed Carly's hand, letting them both rest together in her lap. "Please talk to me. I hate to see you hurting like this, and even worse… I hate that I can't make it stop. You don't have to deal with this by yourself. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

The look in Bo's eyes was almost a pleading one, and it killed her to see him hurting for her… because of her.

Carly shook her head, and her response came out as a choked sob. "I don't know what you want me to say."

Using the hand that wasn't holding hers, Bo rubbed the back of Carly's head. "Just talk to me. Tell me what happened… in New York?"

Sniffling, Carly bowed her head with closed eyes, and tried to regain her composure.

After taking a few deep breaths, she began. "He grabbed me in front of my room, and said he'd kill me if I screamed. He had a knife… I didn't know what to do." The tears flowed freely down her cheeks, and her head remained bowed as she continued.

Bo listened intently, as tears streamed his face. He watched as she continuously wiped her face, and tucked her hair behind her ear. It wasn't until she put her hand back into her lap, that he noticed what she had been doing. The steady fidgeting… she was twirling her wedding ring, nonstop, back and forth.

Bo covered her hand with his, and pulled her into his arms, as she finished talking.

"He raped me!" She cried. Her body racked with sobs, as she buried herself in Bo's embrace.

His tears dropped, one behind the other, into Carly's hair as he held her.

Still crying, Carly clung to her husband like a lifeline. "Don't let me go. Please don't let me go."

"Never." Bo tightened his grip on Carly. "I promise, I'll never let go of you."


End file.
